DIY: Upgrade MMI 3G HDD to SSD

[dcchristopher]

... (or any HDD of your choice for that matter; in fact, unless you can find a PowerSafe IDE SSD, you really should just upgrade to a larger automotive grade HDD)

Link to the instructions, with photos

Also, posted here:

Parts

1) Radio removal keys; I went with the Xtenzi‐branded Double‐DIN keys for Audi/VW/Merc: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IBKI1W, about $10
2) An IDE SSD or HDD of your choice; I went with a 64GB Transcend PSD330 2.5‐inch IDE Internal SSD Solid State Disk (MLC Flash) but had major instability issues with it; I ended up switching to a bigger version of our drive, the MK8050GAC and then its 5400RPM Seagate version, the ST980818AM; please be very careful where you buy either one, there are a lot of scammers out there
3) USB‐to‐IDE connection cables (having two on hand allows for direct drive copying); I went with “Sabrent USB 2.0 TO SATA/IDE 2.5/3.5/‐INCH Hard Drive Converter With Power Supply & LED Activity Lights”: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPGYNV4, about $15 each
4) A T8 six‐point bit (and driver) to remove all the screws
5) VMWare Player, to run the QNX Rear‐Time OS (free download): https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/fre...re_player/7_0; for OSX, you’ll need Fusion and you can get going with just the trial period
6) QNX 6.5.0 SP 1 “Neutrino” Runtime environment (you don’t need the entire SDP; free download): http://www.qnx.com/download/feature....rogramid=23665 (I realize QNX may have taken this down; either search the web or contact me for a copy)

First, remove the radio from the dash. Insert the radio keys into the slits circled in red:

The notches on the radio keys will need to face inward (each other) and you’ll know you inserted them correctly as they’ll “click” (you’ll feel springs being loaded). Pull on the keys and the head unit will just pop out (at this point it’s mostly held in place with friction from the surrounding dash trim).
As you pull the head unit out, there will be a slew of cables still attached to it:

Not shown in this picture are any cables attached to the trim just below the radio key slits (Audi Drive Select, Stability/Traction Control On/Off, Hill Descent Control, etc). You’ll want to get those disconnected first. The ones shown in this graphic are (from right to left): a fiber‐optic (caution: laser!) in/out cable with corrugated plastic sleeves (important), a multi‐cable/purpose “carrier” connector, a yellow and green four‐prong cable, and the XM/radio antenna. All except the carrier have a small latch  you have to depress before pulling on the cable. Take your time, each is slightly different. You’ll need nails, too (so, nail‐biters need not attempt this). Don’t pull hard on any of them as it means you’re doing something wrong. Pulling too hard on the first cable I described (with the plastic sleeves) can cause the corrugated plastic to pop off even though the connector is firmly in place. So, look for that small latch before you start pulling. Now, the really large multi‐purpose cable is like a lego construction of four different connectors, all in one. They’re held together in a carrier that swivels out. The release is on the bottom of the square and as you lift it up, it comes out of the head unit. When re‐inserting, remember to fully extend the carrier, connect with the head unit, and then swivel it down for it to “lock” into place.

Second, open the MMI head unit. By now you should be looking at this:

Remove the six screws circled in red with the T8 six‐point bit. Notice the darker red circle where the screw has a little neighbor; that’s some sort of a pin that worried me at first; it may just be some sort of reset mechanism but it ended up being inconsequential). Break the seal circled in yellow. I tried to get crafty and avoid breaking it but it wasn’t worth bending the metal flaps in the back. Use your fingers to pry open the front of the cover and work your way back, toward those flaps. You can insert a small flat screwdriver in the areas highlighted in light blue. Only insert a millimeter or two as to not damage any of the electronics inside. Just rock the blade side to side to pop the cover, as if opening a can of paint.

Third, remove the hard drive. By now you should be looking at the insides of the head unit:

That’s the optical drive you’re looking at and it’s not secured at all (as it was held in place by some of the screws that also held the cover in place), so, be careful! There’s a ribbon cable attached to it so gently pick it up and flip it over in front of the head unit (where the plastic dash trim is). Lay it down and out of the way. You should be now looking at this:

I did not remove the DVD cable (left) or that aluminum ribbon (right) as I didn’t find either to be in the way. Just remove the three screws (circled in yellow) that are holding the hard drive’s chassis down. You’ll need to tilt the head unit up from the rear and unscrew them from the bottom of the chassis. Be mindful of the optical drive, if still attached. Where the green arrow points in his picture above, there’s a little metal “pin” that is sticking out and holding the hard drive chassis down. You’ll want to apply some light leverage with a small flat‐head screwdriver between the screw and the pin and push that pin inward and away from the hard drive chassis. It’s only the third to last thing keeping that drive down. The second to last thing keeping it down is some blue heat spreader stuff glued in four specific places on the bottom of the hard drive chassis. And finally, the IDE angled‐male‐to‐male adapter at the front of the hard drive is holding it down. Once the afore‐mentioned pin (“3rd to last”) is out of the way, you’ll want to gently pry the hard drive chassis out of its little fox hole, careful to not break the IDE connector (not so much the angled adapter but the one soldered to the circuit board that the angled adapter is plugged into). The angled adapter ought to stay attached to the drive.

Finally, remove the hard drive from the chassis by unscrewing the four mounting screws on the sides where the yellow arrows are indicating (don’t touch the ones on the bottom that are actually PART of the hard drive). These mounting screws were T‐T‐T‐T‐TIGHT but you will not need to tighten them that much on the SSD. Push the drive down so that it will disconnect from the angled IDE adapter. The adapter will probably just fall off at this point as there’s nothing else holding it in place. FYI, some of that blue heat spreader stuff may stick to the hard drive chassis and some may stick to the circuit board.

Interesting factoid, once you remove the hard drive, you’ll notice a little flap on the bottom side of the chassis that’s bent inward, right along the narrow edge opposite the angled adapter opening (indicated by the red arrow in the picture). I don’t know WHY they chose to bend it inward but it presented quite the “WTF? “ moment when I inserted the new SSD drive as it blocked it from lying down flush (one of the mounting screw holes was not aligned properly). Just grab some needle‐nose pliers and straighten that flap out. If you look on the circuit board (at approximately the same location), there’s really nothing sticking out that required that flap to point inward. Just make sure it’s flat and not pointing down (and thus not digging into the circuit board).

Fourth, clone those drives! You can start VM Player by double‐clicking on the .vmx file in the 650SP1‐ VM folder (I used WinRAR to extract the files from the .tar archive). In order for the QNX RTOS to boot up, you don’t have to do anything. Just let it go through all its motions until you end up with this:

You will want to connect the two drives to the USB/IDE adapters and then the adapters to your computer. Make sure those featherweight drives don’t go flying from any tension in the cables. Your computer will try to recognize the new drives, just ignore the messages that pop up. In the VMWare Player window above, just click the Player dropdown, select Removable Devices, find the cryptically named USB/IDE adapter name (e.g., “JMicron/JMicron USA USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge”; mine wasn’t obvious for the adapters I used either, don’t worry), and click “Connect (Disconnect from Host)”. This will transfer control of those USB devices to the QNX VM.

NOTE: If you don’t see any USB devices, simply go to Player ‐> Manage ‐> Virtual Machine Settings, and in the Hardware tab click Add to add a USB Controller to the profile. You may need to restart the VM for that change to take effect. Then retry the previous instruction.

At this point it may behoove you to unplug and reconnect the USB adapters to your computer. The control will again go back to the VM. In fact, any time something isn’t quite right, I found that reconnecting the drives helped the QNX OS recognize them better.

Click the Superuser icon. There’s no password and you’re immediately logged in. Mouse and keyboard control are now passed to the QNX VM. If you need to return control to your computer, simply press the combination Ctrl‐Alt. Click the Launch (“Start”) menu in the bottom left, then select Utilities, then Terminal. This will start a Korn shell session. Type

mount

and press Enter. You’ll see the partitions currently mounted and their mounting point. Most likely you’ll only see the partition for your QNX VM (mine was “/dev/hd0t179 mounted on / type qnx6”). If you type

df

however (and press Enter), you’ll notice that there are more devices visible. You should see the device the above partition is a part of (e.g., /dev/hd0) as well as a couple of other devices for the hard drives connected via USB.

(NOTE: If you see /dev/hd10 and /dev/hd20 instead of /dev/umass0 and /dev/umass1, disconnect and reconnect the USB<‐>IDE adapters). One set (umass0) is for the MMI hard drive and the other is for your new SSD (umass1) but the order or naming will differ depending on your setup. You’ll be able to tell them apart by the sheer size (expressed by default in cylinders unless you enter the command

df –h

in which case it will be expressed in bytes/MB/GB). First things first, look at your existing hard drive’s partitions. Type

fdisk

followed by the device path that points to your hard drive, e.g.

fdisk /dev/umass0

. You will see something like the following:

You should see the following values for your Audi MMI drive:

1	QNX	77	0	3002	3003	*
2	QNY	78	3003	4381	1379
3	QNZ	79	4382	4487	106
4	Ext'd	5	4488	4863	376
4.1	nonQNX	187	4488	4816	329
4.2	nonQNX	187	4817	4823	7
4.3	nonQNX	187	4824	4863	40

Whatever your values are (and they really should match the above), write them down (scroll all the way down by pressing N(ext) or the down arrow. Notice there are three QNX6 partitions (despite their QNX4‐ style type), then an extended partition holding three other non‐QNX partitions). For more information on partition types, check out Keldo’s information sheet here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/221492426/...208;Partitions
Now press Q to Quit. Run fdisk for the new SSD drive. The first time, you’ll need to run it with the –z argument to zero out the partition table: e.g.,

fdisk ‐z /dev/umass1

). The fdisk screen will probably show one big partition taking up the entire drive. Just D(elete) it or C(hange) it and create something that looks like the following:

1	QNX	77	0	3002	3003	*
2	QNY	78	3003	7300	4298
3	QNZ	79	7301	7406	106
4	Ext'd	5	7407	7782	376
4.1	nonQNX	187	7407	7735	329
4.2	nonQNX	187	7736	7742	7
4.3	nonQNX	187	7743	7782	40

The goal is to work your way to the middle of the hard drive to determine how much room can be allocated to the Jukebox (partition 2). Partitions 1, 3, 4 (and therein, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3) will need to be the same as before. The remaining space in the middle will be used for the new Jukebox partition. For each partition you need to create, just press C(hange), enter the partition type (number), then the starting cylinder and the ending cylinder. Don’t forget to press B when on the first partition to make it bootable (an asterisk will display in the Boot column). Press S(ave) and Q(uit). Now on to the fun stuff. For each partition that’s not the Jukebox (i.e., 77, 79, 187, 187.1, 187.2), run the following command:

dd if=/dev/umass0t77 of=/dev/umass1t77 bs=8192k

This will copy each raw partition (e.g., 77) from the old hard drive (e.g., /dev/umass0) to the new SSD (e.g., /dev/umass1) (and 8MB or 8192k at a time). If you mess up the order (umass1 ‐> umass0) or the partition numbers (t77 ‐> t78), you’re SOL (especially if you overwrite the original hard drive). So ... be VERY careful with this.
The tricky part comes when copying the Jukebox partition (78). First you need to format it:

mkqnx6fs –T media /dev/umass1t78

Once that’s done mount the original Jukebox partition as read‐only:

mount –r –t qnx6 /dev/umass0t78 /mnt/jukebox0

and then mount the new Jukebox partition as read‐write:

mount –rw –t qnx6 –o sync=optional /dev/umass1t78 /mnt/jukebox1

and then copy the files over

cp –R /mnt/jukebox0/* /mnt/jukebox1

Finally, put it all back together ... in reverse order!


[dcchristopher]

Reserved for various thoughts on all this *updated 5/16/2015 09:00AM CDT*

It was at parts a challenge but overall fairly simple. There's just so much room for things to go South. When removing the HDD, you're touching against the MMI circuit board. Yikes.

I largely followed Keldo Gliana's instructions on Scribd. The bulk of it is re-creating the partitions on the SSD and then copying each raw partition over with "dd" ... and then waiting! I had to follow a slightly different process for the Jukebox partition as it requires that you mount both partitions and just copy the files over.

I finally got the Jukebox partition to copy over (instructions PDF document has been updated to reflect that)!! Importing tracks from CD or SD is still iffy. There are also issues that arise when the system turns off and back on for justifiable reasons (car turns off / on, etc). It seems to want to rebuild the library every time and it eventually gets corrupted. I tried doing a direct clone of the Jukebox partition and it didn't make a difference. I switched to a bigger automotive hard drive. The SSD I chose was not a good candidate for this operation. A larger automotive-grade (whatever that means) hard disk is the way to go. There's an 80GB version of the one we have in our MMIs (MK8050GAC vs MK40xxGAC for 3G vs MK60xxGAC for 3G+) and then there's a Seagate equivalent that spins at 5400 RPM instead of 4200 RPM (model ST980818AM).

Which brings me to this conclusion ... I would warn anyone trying this to consider the risk/reward proposition here. The Nav feels slightly peppier (route (re)calculations, zooming in/out, etc) but it's nothing mind-blowing. I think the processor is so feeble that the hard drive was definitely not the limiting factor. FYI, if you go into the Green menu, there are some mildly interesting screens with facts about the hard drive attached (look up S.M.A.R.T.). I also found a screen for Java stuff where I was able to trigger garbage collection. FYI, the head unit has 16M of memory. There are also some options to mess with the CPU's clock frequency but I wouldn't f*** with it. :)

[greenturbo]

very cool mod!

[pooker]

Have you ever been able to access the extended partition? I have always been able to open up the QNX partitions, but the Extended partition seems to be where the potential image directories are stored for the system.

[poweredbyaudi7]

Nice!!

[dcchristopher]

Have you ever been able to access the extended partition? I have always been able to open up the QNX partitions, but the Extended partition seems to be where the potential image directories are stored for the system.

Per Keldo's instructions (and I have confirmed this works):
mount -r -t qnx6 /dev/umass0t187 /mnt/system
mount -r -t qnx6 /dev/umass0t187.1 /mnt/backup
mount -r -t qnx6 /dev/umass0t187.2 /mnt/recovery

He claims the third sub-partition (recovery) within the extended partition is not mountable but it worked for me.

[zhclvn]

Cool, will it make it faster?

[dcchristopher]

Cool, will it make it faster?

It's weird, I'm not seeing much improvement where I'd like to see it (initial Nav load time) but the UI is a lot less "sticky". I also see an improvement when calculating routes. All in all though, nothing extraordinary (like making the same upgrade in a laptop). If I can get my Jukebox working again, it would definitely be nice to have that extra space. Did I mention I have Video-in-Motion enabled? :)

[pooker]

I haven't tried this mod yet, but I have been thinking about it for awhile! I don't use a QNX run time environment to access the partitions, so maybe that is why I haven't been able to get into the extended. I have always been interested in modifying the images on the system itself, such as the boot screen.

[dcchristopher]

I haven't tried this mod yet, but I have been thinking about it for awhile! I don't use a QNX run time environment to access the partitions, so maybe that is why I haven't been able to get into the extended. I have always been interested in modifying the images on the system itself, such as the boot screen.

I know you can choose the boot splash screen from a predefined list by simply choosing your model and generation in the Green menu. For completely custom ones, you may be able to copy it from the SD card using a startup script. A gentleman from APR once did that for someone on this forum or A5OC. Next time I'm in the hard drive, I'll look for these images. I'd hope one wouldn't have to open the damn thing just to update the splash screen.

[poweredbyaudi7]

I have a HDD replicator....do you think this could be a one stop shop replication?

[dcchristopher]

I have a HDD replicator....do you think this could be a one stop shop replication?

Some folks on other auto brands which also use QNX for infotainment claim that they're able to replicate the hard drives with G4U (Ghost 4 Unix) but they still have to use a different solution for the partition resizing and that may preclude keeping the files you already had. I also can't vouch for your replicator's "understanding" of QNX partition types. It's definitely possible. My proposed solution seems to work pretty well so far except for the song import issues (which I was "kind of" having before). It doesn't take long to get the QNX stuff set up. You can always try the replicator first and then fall back to the QNX method. Good luck, either way!

[pooker]

I know you can choose the boot splash screen from a predefined list by simply choosing your model and generation in the Green menu. For completely custom ones, you may be able to copy it from the SD card using a startup script. A gentleman from APR once did that for someone on this forum or A5OC. Next time I'm in the hard drive, I'll look for these images. I'd hope one wouldn't have to open the damn thing just to update the splash screen.

I am using an A7 MMI unit in an S4, so even if you modify the options in the green menu, it just brings up a black image, because there isn't an image for the S4 in the A7 system. I didn't realize someone from APR had modified the start script before. I will have to see if I can find the thread.

[dcchristopher]

I am using an A7 MMI unit in an S4, so even if you modify the options in the green menu, it just brings up a black image, because there isn't an image for the S4 in the A7 system. I didn't realize someone from APR had modified the start script before. I will have to see if I can find the thread.

I think this is your guy:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...1#post10661973

He hooked someone up with an APR splash screen, thus my confusion. I'd swear I saw something about him being an APR rep in the other site's post's signature though.

I'm about to hit him up for updated maps for my setup ... and that B&O splash screen would be nice too! :)

UPDATED: forgot to mention, if you search for playlist scripts, you'll find that if you place a specifically named .sh script in the SD card and plug it in after the unit has booted up, it will run it (first line is #!/bin/sh, etc). There a few cookie cutter commands (mount | grep, etc) for figuring out the path for the SD card and the path for the other partitions. Once you know where those images are, overwriting them should be a cinch. Good luck!

[alexza4]

Very nice! Looks very similar to the Tivo drive upgrade process, I've done quiet a few of them over the years.

How big of HD will MMI support?

[dcchristopher]

Very nice! Looks very similar to the Tivo drive upgrade process, I've done quiet a few of them over the years.

How big of HD will MMI support?

I don't know but I can't imagine it would have any issues with drives up to 1TB (2GB x 512), driver-permitting, per the QNX OS specs. The addressing space is the same (32-bit). Each individual file can only be up to 2GB.

Heeeeey ... since YOU have done this before, can you tell me why my flippin' Jukebox partition is wigging out? Even after doing a "cp -R", it will occasionally recreate the Jukebox track list upon start-up. It must be that something is missing that would have been caught as part of a raw partition copy. Unfortunately there's no indication that you can resize a QNX4/6 partition without needing to reformat it.

After one of these reboots, the Jukebox finally got jacked up and is currently greyed out. At least I still have the original hard drive. I'm thinking of just doing a straight raw partition copy (dd) and keeping it at 10GB until I can figure out what it is that's missing.

UPDATE: Even the raw partition copy didn't resolve the issue; there's just something about the SSD drive. Either the MMI is not fond of it or the drive itself lacks a feature that is key.

[dcchristopher]

I reverted back to the original hard drive for now until I get a hold of a MK8050GAC (same as our hard drive but 80GB). The instructions will be the same (just adjust for the larger Jukebox partition when in fdisk).

In the meantime, Philip0001 hooked me up with the latest MMI/Maps updates. He is an awesome dude and a lifesaver!

[seventeenapg]

I know you can choose the boot splash screen from a predefined list by simply choosing your model and generation in the Green menu. For completely custom ones, you may be able to copy it from the SD card using a startup script. A gentleman from APR once did that for someone on this forum or A5OC. Next time I'm in the hard drive, I'll look for these images. I'd hope one wouldn't have to open the damn thing just to update the splash screen.

Many thanks for this. I have always wanted to put in a bigger hdd because I have over 40gb of music files and I want to have it all in jukebox, now I can (hopefully)

[seventeenapg]

I reverted back to the original hard drive for now until I get a hold of a MK8050GAC (same as our hard drive but 80GB). The instructions will be the same (just adjust for the larger Jukebox partition when in fdisk).

In the meantime, Philip0001 hooked me up with the latest MMI/Maps updates. He is an awesome dude and a lifesaver!

Just saw this. I will go this route because I only want more space for my music. I use HERE Drive on my Lumia 930 for nav , I find it way better and easier to use. What is the make of the drive and do I follow the same instructions that you gave for the SSD?
Thank you

[dcchristopher]

Just saw this. I will go this route because I only want more space for my music. I use HERE Drive on my Lumia 930 for nav , I find it way better and easier to use. What is the make of the drive and do I follow the same instructions that you gave for the SSD?
Thank you

Toshiba MK8050GAC, it's the next step up from ours (MK4036GAC). They can be found online for about $150-200. Watch out for spare part sites that are selling used drives but it's only mentioned in the fine print. If you give me about a month, I will try my instructions with this new drive and update this thread. It should be the exact same process with the only difference being the new start/end cylinders for the partitions that come after the Jukebox. Their overall cylinder count will be the same though. If you do give this a try, let us know how it went! Good luck!

[seventeenapg]

Its all pretty intricate, ill wait the month lol. I did read up about the drive on Toshiba website. It seems only difference in automobile drives is the fact it runs at higher temperatures, better shock resistance and impervious yo high altitudes. Not sure why the SSD did not work correctly.

[dcchristopher]

Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. This has been the bane of my most recent existence. Nevertheless, I have to believe that the SSD somehow is missing some feature present in regular HDDs. I have to ...

[alexza4]

I don't know but I can't imagine it would have any issues with drives up to 1TB (2GB x 512), driver-permitting, per the QNX OS specs. The addressing space is the same (32-bit). Each individual file can only be up to 2GB.

Heeeeey ... since YOU have done this before, can you tell me why my flippin' Jukebox partition is wigging out? Even after doing a "cp -R", it will occasionally recreate the Jukebox track list upon start-up. It must be that something is missing that would have been caught as part of a raw partition copy. Unfortunately there's no indication that you can resize a QNX4/6 partition without needing to reformat it.

After one of these reboots, the Jukebox finally got jacked up and is currently greyed out. At least I still have the original hard drive. I'm thinking of just doing a straight raw partition copy (dd) and keeping it at 10GB until I can figure out what it is that's missing.

UPDATE: Even the raw partition copy didn't resolve the issue; there's just something about the SSD drive. Either the MMI is not fond of it or the drive itself lacks a feature that is key.

hey, not sure, if I can be of much help to you... as like I said I did for the Tivo drive replacements, which is similar, but never for the MMI. Let me dig into this though when I have a minute and maybe I can see something.

[The Outrage]

I would think the slow Parallel ATA connection would negate most of the speed advantages of the SSD.

[dcchristopher]

hey, not sure, if I can be of much help to you... as like I said I did for the Tivo drive replacements, which is similar, but never for the MMI. Let me dig into this though when I have a minute and maybe I can see something.

No rush, thanks for being willing to check into it though. I'll give the 80GB HDD a try in a few weeks and will update this thread.

[seventeenapg]

No rush, thanks for being willing to check into it though. I'll give the 80GB HDD a try in a few weeks and will update this thread.

I have installed the VMware 7.0 and the QNX software as well although I have not run either yet in case it begins a trial period. I did see Fusion in the VMware catalogue; do I need to install it as well? About to order the 80GB drive on Amazon so I have all ready. I can follow explicit instructions but am not that tech savvy!! This is a mod I have been looking to do for a long time now and so looking forward to having all of my music on tap and through voice control...

[dcchristopher]

I have installed the VMware 7.0 and the QNX software as well although I have not run either yet in case it begins a trial period. I did see Fusion in the VMware catalogue; do I need to install it as well? About to order the 80GB drive on Amazon so I have all ready. I can follow explicit instructions but am not that tech savvy!! This is a mod I have been looking to do for a long time now and so looking forward to having all of my music on tap and through voice control...

Are you on a Mac or PC? The former requires Fusion which will be on trial basis (read: countdown). The latter only needs Player which is freeware. Be very careful as some of those Amazon listings are for used drives. I found a couple options for new drives around $220 at sites like AllHDD and UpgradeBay or something like that. Use Google Shopping and you'll see them. Good luck! If you need me to shadow you while you do it, I can watch/guide you over TeamViewer.

[seventeenapg]

Are you on a Mac or PC? The former requires Fusion which will be on trial basis (read: countdown). The latter only needs Player which is freeware. Be very careful as some of those Amazon listings are for used drives. I found a couple options for new drives around $220 at sites like AllHDD and UpgradeBay or something like that. Use Google Shopping and you'll see them. Good luck! If you need me to shadow you while you do it, I can watch/guide you over TeamViewer.

Thanks, I have a surface pro 3 running win 8.1 and have teamViewer installed . So I guess I will not need Fusion then. Also, will make sure I get a brand new drive. I love in N Ireland so will do a comprehensive search before I push the button on a drive. Hmm, just thinking, I have only one USB3.0 port on the tablet....

[dcchristopher]

Thanks, I have a surface pro 3 running win 8.1 and have teamViewer installed . So I guess I will not need Fusion then. Also, will make sure I get a brand new drive. I love in N Ireland so will do a comprehensive search before I push the button on a drive. Hmm, just thinking, I have only one USB3.0 port on the tablet....

You may be able to use a USB hub. Try with a keyboard and mouse first, just to verify that it works. If you get the USB-IDE adapters I recommended, they have an external power option. You will want that or one like it as the single USB port on the Surface 3 may not be able to power both drives at the same time as you copy 37GB. Just my two cents.

[seventeenapg]

You may be able to use a USB hub. Try with a keyboard and mouse first, just to verify that it works. If you get the USB-IDE adapters I recommended, they have an external power option. You will want that or one like it as the single USB port on the Surface 3 may not be able to power both drives at the same time as you copy 37GB. Just my two cents.

Thanks, I have a spare laptop and I will put the software on it I think. Will also buy 2 adaptors as you rightly suggest with power supplies. I am reading your detailed instructions just now and I have a few questions..
I see only 10GB for partition 2, the jukebox. I always thought there was about 15GB allocated for music files.

After I create partition 4 do I then move on and create a partition 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 or do I have to create these 3 from within the extended partition?

For the new jukebox (78) I understand that it will have to be seperately formatted. As I have no music on my current HDD do I just mount it as read only and then read/ write or can I go directly and mount as read/write?

And finally, I have a 2013 S5 but I cannot see the small slits for the keys. I will look more closely later tho.
Thank you so much for your valued help.

[dcchristopher]

Thanks, I have a spare laptop and I will put the software on it I think. Will also buy 2 adaptors as you rightly suggest with power supplies. I am reading your detailed instructions just now and I have a few questions..
I see only 10GB for partition 2, the jukebox. I always thought there was about 15GB allocated for music files.

After I create partition 4 do I then move on and create a partition 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 or do I have to create these 3 from within the extended partition?

For the new jukebox (78) I understand that it will have to be seperately formatted. As I have no music on my current HDD do I just mount it as read only and then read/ write or can I go directly and mount as read/write?

And finally, I have a 2013 S5 but I cannot see the small slits for the keys. I will look more closely later tho.
Thank you so much for your valued help.

You have many questions, Mr. Sparkle! (sorry, gratuitous Simpsons reference)

1) Only 10GB to my knowledge and experience ... at the end of the day though, what you want to do is run fdisk on the current hard drive and establish what the current cylinder counts are for each partition; recreate the same structure on the new hard drive except the Jukebox will take up all the remaining space; since it's in the middle (more or less), you'll have to push the partitions that come after it to the end of the new drive and that's how you'll know how much room you're left with ... it's a fun and easy puzzle to solve

2) You'll create 4, then 4.1, 4.2, etc. The system will know that the sub-partitions are part of the extended partition by virtue of the cylinder counts. Recreating the partitions in the new hard drive is really easy, don't worry. Just enter the information as you have computed it from the previous step

3) For the Jukebox partition, I would say just go ahead and run the copy command anyway. It will create any existing folder structure, etc. Bear in mind, you mount the original as read then the new one as read/write. You don't first mount (anything) as read and then read/write. One is read, the other is read/write. Just to be clear.

4) Aaah, this may explain your first question too ... mine is a 3G, yours is probably 3G+. Besides the partition sizes being a little different, there may be OTHER differences in the steps. Please proceed with extreme caution! In fact, my recommendation would be to stay put and not mess up that beautiful new(er) car of yours. Mine is already paid off and I'm just asking to hose it up so that I can justify getting something newer, like yours! :)

[seventeenapg]

You have many questions, Mr. Sparkle! (sorry, gratuitous Simpsons reference)



1) Only 10GB to my knowledge and experience ... at the end of the day though, what you want to do is run fdisk on the current hard drive and establish what the current cylinder counts are for each partition; recreate the same structure on the new hard drive except the Jukebox will take up all the remaining space; since it's in the middle (more or less), you'll have to push the partitions that come after it to the end of the new drive and that's how you'll know how much room you're left with ... it's a fun and easy puzzle to solve



2) You'll create 4, then 4.1, 4.2, etc. The system will know that the sub-partitions are part of the extended partition by virtue of the cylinder counts. Recreating the partitions in the new hard drive is really easy, don't worry. Just enter the information as you have computed it from the previous step



3) For the Jukebox partition, I would say just go ahead and run the copy command anyway. It will create any existing folder structure, etc. Bear in mind, you mount the original as read then the new one as read/write. You don't first mount (anything) as read and then read/write. One is read, the other is read/write. Just to be clear.



4) Aaah, this may explain your first question too ... mine is a 3G, yours is probably 3G+. Besides the partition sizes being a little different, there may be OTHER differences in the steps. Please proceed with extreme caution! In fact, my recommendation would be to stay put and not mess up that beautiful new(er) car of yours. Mine is already paid off and I'm just asking to hose it up so that I can justify getting something newer, like yours! :)

Lol, thanks for info. Still determined to di this. Really shouldn't be much difference to that which you have detailed. Now to figure out how to remove the head unit. At least I can firstly interrogate it to see what's its make up!

[dcchristopher]

Lol, thanks for info. Still determined to di this. Really shouldn't be much difference to that which you have detailed. Now to figure out how to remove the head unit. At least I can firstly interrogate it to see what's its make up!

No problem! I admire your persistence. Here's a picture of a similar unit. Notice where the radio keys go:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...=1#post8091112

I like your approach ... at least examine the hard drive and get the partition information. I have to say though, opening up that head unit is like Russian Roulette. The fewer times you need to pull the trigger, the better!

[seventeenapg]

I have just ordered all the bits and pieces I need so hurdle one completed!

[dcchristopher]

I have just ordered all the bits and pieces I need so hurdle one completed!

May there always be work for your hands to do,
May your MMI always hold an SD card or two.
May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane,
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your Jukebox partition with music to cheer you.

[seventeenapg]

I know He will lol

[seventeenapg]

...ordered!!

[dcchristopher]

Very nice! ... you crazy man!

[KickAss]

I am keen to see seventeenapg's progress as I am going through a similar project out of necessity on my 2012 A6 MMI 3G Plus

I was also wondering why a raw HDD clone would not work using a software like Paragon or partition magic.

[seventeenapg]

I am keen to see seventeenapg's progress as I am going through a similar project out of necessity on my 2012 A6 MMI 3G Plus

I was also wondering why a raw HDD clone would not work using a software like Paragon or partition magic.

I'm guessing it might work but, for me, I need a bigger partition for the jukebox. I have ordered all the parts I need. I seem to have 18 gb for music but its not enough!